There are a number of mechanical electrical devices that use optical fibers cables or electrical cables, collectively referred to as cables, wherein flexibility is especially important. In some applications, these cables are subjected to repetitive bending operations that may, over time, cause damage to the cables. This damage may cause electrical shorting, in the case of electrical cables, or melting of the cables due to light leakage and heat buildup, in the case of optical fiber. Both of these scenarios may cause safety issues and may result in expensive repairs.
Computer-to-plate (CTP) machines present a good example of this type of problem. In a CTP machine, a bundle of optical fiber is attached to an imaging head, which is moved back and forth numerous times along a surface of a rotating drum to create an image on media attached to the drum. For the purpose of heat excess detection, along high power electric transmission cable assemblies, linear heat detectors such as from Protectowire (http://protectowire.com/) are used. Unfortunately such sensors can not be used in some cable trays due to the limited structural flexibility.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a heat sensors for flexible waveguides. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an alert module and an interlock module that are activated by a signal detected by the heat sensors and heat detectors.